Kavurma Recipes

I've prepared this Indian curry called korma countless times since I got married. I learned this dish from my husband Lulu's aunt (I call her Phoopi). It's a very flexible dish that allows for many combinations of meat and vegetable. Chicken, beef, goat, potato, taro and various vegetables (peas, carrot, broccoli) are commonly used. The spicy gravy is what's constant.

The gravy is made of fried onion paste and yogurt and is flavored with ginger-garlic paste as well as several Indian spices. This version contains beef but you can easily omit the meat if you're preparing a vegetarian version.

Mutton meat stew is one of our family's special occasion dishes whenever one of my husband Lulu's relatives come from dinner. I've shared several other versions in the past, but this week, I made the gravy with freshly ground poppy seeds. It gives the dish a pleasant nutty aroma that pairs perfectly with steamed jasmine rice.

The okra vegetables are added at the last minute and provided a nice contrast of color to the meat. Once cooked, they have a slimy quality that blends with the gravy. I've probably mentioned in the past but if you've never tried this unusual vegetable, okra is one of those foods you either love or hate. I personally love them!